


sky never looked so blue (im going home)

by yo_let_me_get_a_milkyway



Category: In the Heights - Miranda/Hudes
Genre: 80's Music, Alternate Universe - Road Trip, Beaches, Domestic Bliss, Florida, Fluff and Smut, Long Shot, M/M, Making Love, Post-Canon, Reference to Real Places, Schmoop, Swimming, Tender Sex, Vacation, Wordcount: Over 10.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:33:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26639620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yo_let_me_get_a_milkyway/pseuds/yo_let_me_get_a_milkyway
Summary: Sonny’s off at college now. The apartment’s quiet, Usnavi’s restless, and they definitely need a break.Or, the fic where Benny and Usnavi go on a week’s worth of a road trip, Usnavi finally gets the closest thing he can have to DR’s crystal clear beaches, and Benny tries to propose in the right way.
Relationships: Benny/Usnavi (In the Heights)
Comments: 17
Kudos: 28





	sky never looked so blue (im going home)

**Author's Note:**

> happy friday everyone! i hope you all had a great week, because mine has been a little rocky. nevertheless, i am here to spoil you with a longer fic than usual. 
> 
> hope you enjoy. please leave a kudo, a comment, and share. much love to my beta reader for the proofreading help - you're amazing!
> 
> title is from canyon moon by harry styles. (go listen to it, loves. ❤)

The realization doesn't dawn on him until they get back home. 

Both men are tired from the two, almost three hour drive back from Sonny's college dormitory, and Benny's on the couch as soon as they arrive and ready to clock out. Usnavi watches him toe at a blanket at the foot of the couch and he giggles, grabbing it for him and draping it over his shoulder as he straddles Benny's ass and rests on his back. Pressed against his neck, he feels Benny rumble underneath him. Probably tickled by the warmth of his breath on his nape. 

"Navi," Benny mumbles into his pillow, and Usnavi adjusts himself so that Benny can turn around and face his boyfriend. His voice is slurry, sleepy and warm, as he gives Usnavi the best smile he can. "It's late, baby. Don't you wanna sleep?"

There's a frown tugging on Usnavi's face. "Can't," he says, slipping off his jeans and grabbing what looks to be one of Benny's hoodies draped over the couch. "I can't stop thinking about how Sonny's keeping up back at those dorms. Did you see his roommate?"

He laughs, helping Usnavi tug his hoodie on. "I'm sure he'll be fine with that Leon kid. He seemed nice when I helped him out with his textbooks."

"It's not just that," Usnavi tells him, finally resting his head in the crook of Benny's neck. "I'm worried about him. He's young and he knows a lot for his age and I'm worried that he's going to do… things."

"Things," Benny sleepily restates with a yawn, because things, whilst having its implications solid, aren't processed through Benny's sleep muddled brain. "I don't think Sonny's gonna try getting drunk without your permission, babe. He'd probably text you cause he knows how much of a hen you are."

Usnavi fake gasps, and pokes Benny's side gently. "You don't agree with him, do you?"

A moment’s consideration, before Benny nods. "You can be a little bit of a hen, but that's fine because hens lay amazing eggs."

"Ew," Usnavi joked. "I don't poop out eggs."

"You don’t,” Benny agreed. “But you do like to ruin a man’s sleep by talking about hens out of nowhere."

“Shush. You started this.”

There’s another moment of silence, before Usnavi rolls off of Benny to get up and do something. Particularly the kitchen, because they haven’t eaten anything since they went to that McDonalds before they left Sonny officially. Off to face the real world, in the cooped space of a college dormitory where he was free to do the worst without parental supervision. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t worried, despite knowing that his cousin had himself in check - lord knows that the boy knew how to save up and budget already, and Nina had hooked him up with so many college hacks and recipes - but it did nothing to quell the pit of fear in his stomach. As much as the kids there were smart, maybe there could’ve been some pretentious white asshole that buyed his way in. Sonny was also the type to pick fights if anyone had done something to him or someone else-

“Hey,” Benny whispered behind him. He had the blanket sleepily draped over his shoulders, eyelids beginning to droop over his sleepy eyes. “Why’re you still awake, baby? ‘S anything up?”

Well, Usnavi thought. Benny was bound to figure something was up with him sooner. He sat himself on one of the stools, letting Benny hold him close and rub his achy neck. “It’s Sonny,” he began, and he felt Benny lean against him a little more. “I’m sorry about all of this, it’s not your job to deal with-”

“Navi, what did I tell you earlier?”

“...You’re gonna look after me, and that also means looking after Sonny and everyone else.”

“Good,” he sleepily affirmed, kissing Usnavi’s forehead and plopping himself up on the stool next to him. “Now, what else do you need?”

It took a moment to find an answer, but Usnavi shrugged, ultimately socked for an answer. “There’s nothing else I could ever need but you,” he sweetly told him, and Benny smiled where his mouth was pressed against his neck. “You and the bodega and Sonny and everyone in this little barrio.”

“You're such a romantic,” Benny sapped out, pressing another kiss to his neck. “God, I’m gonna miss sleepy Sunday mornings with you.”

Right, they were definitely going to miss that for a good few months, thanks to Sonny’s absence. Usnavi was now full time in the bodega, Benny juggling his business degree and his taxi work - there was a scarce amount of spare time they could keep together, nevertheless alone - and he winced at the thought. Give it to Sonny to make his presence knowable in the loudest way and vanish because he requires a funny thing called education. 

He groaned, noise against Benny’s arm. “I’m so goddamn tired,” he murmured. “Someone get me a six month vacation twice a year, my back’s going to kill me.”

“See, now you sound like one of those coffee moms,” Benny called him out, picking him up and taking him to their bedroom with an amused expression. “Don’t wake me up after I’ve had my coffee! I might bite,” he mocked, laughter rumbling out Usnavi. 

“It’s true though,” Usnavi said, settling into the sheets with a sigh as he let Benny unbutton his dress shirt. “I wanna go down the coast with you. Get in those… aesthetic motels with nice sheets with a view of the Atlantic, eat those fancy fruit platters…”

Benny laughed at his little fantasy before he drifted off to the sensation of his hand carding through his hair. “I suppose we could make that work for you,” he mumbled, finally settling in next to Usnavi. “A trip down the coast doesn’t actually sound too shabby.”

And sitting there, watching Usnavi fall asleep quickly as he seemed to be tired out by their short conversation, his brow twitchy as he purred under his touch, Benny realized his boyfriend might actually need a break. Restless, loud, jumpy Usnavi, who seemed so wound up by everything, who kept fantasies in his brain of pearl white sand and ocean blue waters in his head that got caught up in a whirlwind of work, family, life-

A wad of the 96000 came to mind, as well as a good amount he had been saving up. Kevin had a car they could use (if he asked in the most polite way possible), and they definitely had enough for at least a week of pure indulgence. If Usnavi could cooperate to let Pete run the bodega for that time, and if he finally proposed - proposed, goddamnit, two years together and a friendship that lasted long before, how long of bouncing around their sappy domesticity was it going to take before one of them got tired of the other not making a move - perhaps he could help Usnavi with the clutter in his brain. It’s what a good boyfriend did anyways. 

He stored the thought in his head for tomorrow, picking up the blanket at the foot of the bed and pressing himself up to Usnavi’s warm side. Tomorrow could bring better things - as it did always.

He could definitely arrange for something.

  
  
  
  


And so he does. 

Benny kisses Usnavi goodbye for the day, expecting to see him later, before he heads out to work to negotiate with his boss about his work hours. He already works both day and night shift, picking up and dropping off and driving all the best clients his manager can get him because goddamnit, he's the best taxi driver in all of New York City. When he brings up the idea of a week off, his manager shrugs and tells him to "go take a break, lord knows you haven't had one your whole life", and he thinks everything could go swell. 

He speaks to Kevin and Camila about road trip things. They've never been on a road trip, god forbid, and Benny almost wants to invite them before he realizes that oh, this is for Usnavi. 

Camila laughs with a kind motherly smile. "A road trip at this time of year sounds great," she tells him. "Catch the last of the summer breeze with him, will you?"

Nina overhears from where she's doing the dishes. "You guys are going down the coast?"

"That is the plan," Benny tells the Rosarios, leaning back against the plush of their couch. Kevin nods, taking in Benny's idea. He's structural like that, plans mapping themselves out in his head. The great thing about going to the Rosarios for advice is that he can get a view from all perspectives - Camila's optimism, Kevin's logic, and Nina's mesh of both plus her extensive knowledge of almost everything except sports. To top it off, Lincoln's got a great sense of romance, so he gets the full deal speaking to them.

Finally, Kevin makes a noise of his approval. "Usnavi's great at navigation," he throws out to their pool of ideas, and Lincoln stifles a laugh because the word navigation sounds so Usnavi. Nina's done with the dishes now, and she hops on her phone to look up some nice places to stop. "Where are you guys headed?"

"Probably Florida," Benny says, and Lincoln's eyes light up in interest. "I've played a gig down there once for that band I was in for like, six months," he tells him. "Man, you should see the beaches. They're a little less dirty than the Hudson."

_ "Wepa! _ " Camila exclaims. "This is beautiful!"

Everyone shifts their attention to Nina's phone, currently on the Trip Advisor website with a picture of some preppy beach on the thumbnail. It's beautiful, Benny thinks, looking at the way the palm trees have that silhouette effect on the clouds, which are all reflecting off the sun. There's a really sweet pier there too, and he can see a bunch of exemplary pictures of the things to do - there are people that do street shows, fire dancers that remind him of the Fourth of July, and so many shops that look like he could spoil Usnavi in there. 

Lincoln giggles. "Bring a few seashells up here, please," he asks, and Nina jabs her pointer finger in his side as Benny examines more of the scenery. The water looks so pretty. It'll be even prettier up close, he can tell.  _ It'll be the prettiest with Usnavi swimming in, face filled with the utmost joy. _

Kevin squeezes his shoulder. "Whatever you do, please keep Usnavi safe," he smiles out, and he pulls Camila close. "He's as much as a son to us and a brother to the kids, and we want his happiness put first."

"Of course," Benny agrees, because he would never hurt Usnavi - the thought appalled him. "I've got one more question, following this."

The siblings are mumbling to each other about something, but Camila shoots them a gentle lead to quiet themselves. Benny feels as if he's asking the wrong people the wrong question, or maybe it's that he's asking this too soon, but they're looking at him the same way Usnavi's parents and Abuela did and-

"I was going to ask for his hand in marriage."

There's a silence that washes over them all, before Lincoln whoops and hugs Nina, sending both of them into a frenzy. The words finally manage to register in Camila's brain, and she joins them in her happiness, holding up both of her children in a huge bear hug. Kevin looks like the proudest father, expression matched of the day Nina went off to Stanford for the first time, almost filled with tears as he pulls Benny into a hug, congratulatory words bustling out in Spanish he could catch if he had the brainpower to actually process it now. "Is this a yes?"

"God, hell yeah!" Lincoln yells, unnecessarily loud, and Nina punches his shoulder because she thinks the whooping noises are over. "I'm your best man now, dude."

"Pssh," Nina scoffs. "I'm his best woman, thank you very much. Benny appreciates me more than you."

"Quiet  _ mi amors _ , this isn't about you," Camila tells them, and they finally settle down even though Benny laughs at the pair with amusement. The Rosarios are definitely invited to their wedding, should they have a wedding. Ideas fill his head - who's going to walk them respectively down the aisle, what flavored cake they're going to have, if PIraguero does catering.

His phone vibrates with a text, alerting them back into the real world. It's from Usnavi - a picture of him with a Cuban press sandwich and a grin -  _ missing you and Sonny, but at least you aren't three hours away. Join me for lunch at that place down the road from the Rosarios? x _ \- and Lincoln makes oohing noises before Kevin pinches his thigh gently. "I think I have to go now," Benny bashfully smiles out. "Don't wanna keep him waiting."

"Sheesh," Lincoln rolls his eyes. "I'll walk you out, Benny. Need a moment to talk to this fuckin lovebird."

"Language!" the rest of them yell, and Lincoln sticks his tongue out rebelliously but gives Nina a thumbs up as he heads to the door. Camila drops the f-bomb in favor of hugging Benny and bombarding him with loads of good luck and happy things, and Kevin squeezes him even tighter as Nina kisses him and tells him something in Latin. ("Heck does that mean?" "It means yall are about to get it on-" "Nina!" "Have a great day, Benjamin!") He smiles at them, leaving to catch up with Lincoln, who is currently waiting for him.

"Hey," Lincoln grins at him, to which Benny responds with a "Hey yourself, Romeo." Lincoln laughs at that, and Benny thinks he's gonna have to ask him out for a beer because they haven't spoken in so long to each other, what with Lincoln's music gigs and tours. 

They hop down the stoop, Benny excited to see Usnavi even though it's only been 5 hours since they've last spoken and Lincoln a little shaken because damn, his best friend's getting married, but Benny's laughing at some text he received from Usnavi about his ham and cheese getting cold and texting a heart back and Lincoln can keep his heart still a little. 

"Soooooo," he begins, drawing out the  _ o _ . "Florida, huh? Clearwater is a pretty packed place."

"Relax," Benny tells him. "Summer's closing. We're getting one of the later days, it'll be less packed."

"How sweet," Lincoln compliments, and they're getting close to that sandwich joint because it really is only down the block. "You guys don't worry about bringing anything back for us, okay? Just enjoy yourselves."

Benny nods. "Planning on making sure we have fun, don't worry. He did always have an affinity for beaches, and the Hudson isn’t exactly the cleanest place."

“Well I’ll make sure to get up early tomorrow to bring you one of the vans,” Lincoln tells him with a nod, and Benny’s eternally grateful for him. Lincoln just seems to know him like the back of his hand. 

The conversation ends there, because they've made it to the sandwich joint and Lincoln's off, not after he gives Benny the tightest hug he's ever given with a teary voice of congratulations. Usnavi sees them through the window and gives him a look of worry, but Lincoln gives him a happy wave and a wink to Benny before he hops down the street with a skip in his step as Benny enters.

Usnavi laughs. "What's up with him? New gig?" he giggles out.

Benny gives him a little kiss as he takes a seat in front of him. "He's just excited for what I'm about to tell you," Benny tells him nonchalantly, and Usnavi sits up in his seat with a smile as Benny tries to find some way to break this to him. 

"I was thinking about last night," Benny starts, and Usnavi fishes in his head for the events of last night. His brain was too sleepy and muddled to remember much, but Benny laughs and gently places his foot on top of Usnavi's foot underneath the table in a small mock of footsies. "You said something about a vacation. Y'know,  _ ‘down the coast with you. Get in those… aesthetic motels with nice sheets with a view of the Atlantic, eat those fancy fruit platters…’ _ "

He gives it a moment's pause, but Usnavi's expression lights up into something great. "Are you for real?" he chokes out, and Benny grins and pulls up a picture of the beach. It isn't DR - Usnavi doesn't think he could deal with the emotions that come with the place - but it's the perfect line between what he wishes he could have and what he can't have and the thought of warm summer days spent in the sunlight waters with Benny fills him with something warm-

"Usnavi, are you-"

As he takes his hand, Usnavi's crying happy tears like a sap. "I'm going, you dimwit," he sobs out, and Benny sighs out a breath he didn't know he was holding until Usnavi leans over to kiss him with the most public decency he can keep in. Benny thinks it's all worth it, running to the Rosarios for advice, taking a few days off work, and offering to take him down there when the smile on his face is brighter than sunshine.

"Now I do believe you called me here for a reason," Benny grins, and Usnavi smiles because they're not taking these great sandwiches for granted. As he talks, his voice is full of unfiltered joy, even though it's about his day at the bodega so far. The voice that wakes him up in the morning with a nibble to his ear or the scent of coffee, washing over him as they feel the sunlight filter through the window and reveal the dust floating through the air. He couldn't ask for anything else.

Usnavi takes a bite from his Cubano. "We need to think about who's running the bodega," he says, hand still over the table entangled with Benny's. "Who do you have in mind?"

"Mmm, everyone's busy," Benny hums, staring into Usnavi's eyes - pierced in thought, the way they look over the bodega's debts with his brow furrowed. "On a normal day, I'd ask Sonny or Pete-"

"Pete's here," Usnavi perks up. "Convince me to let him run the bodega before I lose my happy streak."

Benny laughs at his boy's melodramatic and silly antics, squeezing his hand and smiling. "Think of it as a test," Benny tells him. "I don't think leaving him to the bodega is that much of a stretch considering that he hasn't destroyed it yet."

"...You've got a point," Usnavi commented, speaking through yet another mouthful of his sandwich. "I do feel kinda bad for him. I know how much Sonny means to him."

"Yeah," Benny smiled once again, if a person could smile as much as he was. "You're doing great, you know that, right?"

"Bennyyy,"

"We leave at dawn tomorrow! Let me woo you a little more before we leave the barrio!"

What a dork, Usnavi thought, but this was his dork overall. His cute dork, who was going to drive him down the coast and spoil him like a sugar daddy - he mentally choked at the thought of calling Benny daddy, god, what a thought - and he shook his head to gain his composure. "Fine," he ended. "I'll speak to Pete."

Benny fist pumped. Now all that was left was actually planning on this trip. 

Benny spoke to Piraguero about his trip - the man couldn’t offer too much advice, as he hadn’t really been out of New York City. It was alright though, because he was able to add as much advice as he could based on what he knew about Usnavi. 

He walks into the scene of Pete and Usnavi by the counter, the fan bustling on even though it isn’t really that hot. “You are to take absolutely nothing off the house unless you pay for it,” he tells him, and Benny is stifling his laughter because Sonny already gives Pete everything in the bodega for half price and Usnavi always seemed to let him off the hook. Huddled over the cash monitor, Pete is attentive as Usnavi explains how the thing works, all the little buttons, and how to scan the bar on the item with a Milky Way as an example. After scanning it, he threw it at Benny. 

Pete raised an eyebrow. “I thought you didn’t give anything on the house?”

Usnavi took a 5 dollar bill out his pocket, stuffing it into the register and taking his change. “I like to follow my own rules, thank you very much,” he smugly said with a squeeze to Pete’s shoulder. “Consider this a test, and a nod to how much I trust you with the store’s presence while me and Benny are down in Florida.”

“Sounds like fun,” Pete smiled the best he could. “I promise not to paint on any of the back walls, sir, scouts honor.”

“Thanks,” Usnavi nods, and they shake hands while Benny munches on his Milky Way bar and wonders when the hell Pete was a scout. (He thinks it’s the way he knows how to light a match, but who knows. Perhaps a 14 year old Pete found a match and decided to rub it somewhere.) “We’ll be off now, but work starts tomorrow at 7 in the morning. Kapische?”

“Kaspische, sir. Have fun!”

\---

Closing time came, leaving them to the shutting of the grate while Pete ran off to head back to his place. Usnavi was smiling ear to ear, on his tippy toes in excitement for their little trip. Benny smiled at him - whenever Usnavi was excited, he’d get all touchy with him, bouncing at the sides and restless.

Like right now, when they’re both getting ready. Usnavi would usually stuff his things in their shared suitcase, but he’s being really precise and organized about it and he’s got his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth and his eyes narrowed as he tries to decide between a tank top or a t-shirt. Pacing between where he’s sandwiched between the couch and the coffee table back to his bedroom, where he keeps pulling out piles and piles of shirts they’ve seemed to acquire. This has turned from a mission to find clothes for their vacation into spring cleaning. 

Benny sighs from where he’s laying sideways on their couch. “ _ Babyyyy _ ,” he draws out, reaching out to where Usnavi is folding his dress shirts and button ups for the trip. “Come sit with me for a while.”

“You already have your stuff prepared,” Usnavi countered, stuffing a T-shirt into his suitcase. “I can’t find my t-shirts, can I borrow one from you?”

“Just admit it,” Benny said. “You like how my T-shirts smell.”

“Shush and help me out over here.”

Benny pouted, giving him the look that said  _ if you don’t get over here so I can hug you or something, I’m going to get up myself.  _ “Darling,” He teased, rolling off the couch to sit beside him. “You’re probably already done by now, and now you’re just refolding the entirety of our closet. Come relax with me, please?”

He was just about to roll his eyes, but then Benny said something about a massage and he rolled his eyes and hopped in Benny’s arms for the second time that week. “That’s my boy,” his boyfriend praised, standing with an  _ up up _ and taking him to their bedroom. “We gotta get you into the vacation zone, Navi. Get your meditation on so you can untense while we’re on the road.” Whatever it was that Benny was doing, Usnavi was totally down with it, rolling onto his stomach and sighing into the pillow. 

Straddling Usnavi’s ass, Benny rubbed his shoulders, digging into his lower back as he kneaded. At the sensation of Benny pressing his knots, he groaned, letting him do his thing as he muttered out cuss words. “That good, huh?” Benny teased, moving down a little and kissing Usnavi’s back. “God, you’re so cute when you’re relaxed. So pliant…”

“I swear to god,” Usnavi laughed in a manner that told them both that he felt utterly fucked. “If you fuck me right now, I’m not gonna be driving.”

He laughed into his neck, pulling Usnavi into a sweet kiss. “I’ll be gentle darling,” he teased, rubbing soft circles on his hip, and Usnavi let out a small gasp as Benny rolled him onto the side of the bed that met the wall. “Do you want to?”

“Fuck,” Usnavi whimpered breathily as Benny moved his head down to lick at his skin underneath his chin. “Benny, quit the teasing, ah fuck-” 

“That is the point.”

  
  
  
  


And so they head out in the morning. 

They're dressed comfortably, but decently, Usnavi in a pair of jean shorts and swimming in one of Benny's hoodies, even though it's not even considerably cold. Benny's got a white Tee underneath a Hawaiian shirt covered in palm tree print, almost ready to see the beach. He finds it funny how strange they look on the street, like tourists who thought NYC was the Maldives.

Usnavi doesn’t want to take too much, so they settle on taking the suitcase and an extra bag for things they’ll take home, as well as a huge pool ring for the beach and a box of condoms (to which Pete tried to keep a straight face at the bodega, and Usnavi felt bad that he had to think of the the implications). Lincoln drove up to the front of their apartment, the keys jangling around his finger and the usual grin on his face.

“Howdy doo,” Lincoln greeted them, and they all laughed a little because Lincoln was patting his car like a horse. “This bugger will do you good. I even filled the gas for you guys, so don’t you dare get a grain of sand on it.”

Benny rolled his eyes, admiring the nice looking Chevrolet - he never got to drive the best cars, and that was perfectly fine, but this was definitely reserved for the richer clients. It had a window on the roof, and the funny image of Usnavi poking his head through it came to his head and he giggled a little. “We won’t get a single dent on it,” he mumbles. “But sand? Definitely.”

A shrug, before Lincoln steps to the side and hands him the key. “You guys doing a full drive or stopping midway?”

“We’re stopping in Virginia,” Benny told them as Usnavi grunted to lift up the trunk and stuff in their case with a road blanket around his neck “Unless he wants to hit the beach as soon as possible. Then I’ll go the whole way.”

“Excuse you,” Usnavi exclaimed with a grain of sleep, punctuating his statement with the shut of the trunk. “I’ll also drive, thank you very much. I am capable of getting us from Point A to Point B in a safe manner.”

“Whatever you say baby. Whatever you say.”

After saying their goodbyes and dropping Lincoln off at the Rosarios, Benny watched Usnavi’s eyes as they sparkled with excitement. Something pinged in his chest as Usnavi continued munching on the breakfast burrito they got at the Mcdonalds on the freeway exit, before they got on and began driving towards the GWB and out of Manhattan. “It’s strangely heart pulling,” Usnavi mumbled from where he was leaning against the window. “Looking out the window and watching the city get smaller and smaller. It’s like leaving home.”

Benny can get that, he really can. Staring down at the Hudson through the side of the bridge - god, the Hudson, it looked so big - and staring at the way his GPS looks - when was the last time he used a GPS or some kind of navigation system - it did look big. The side window reflects the skyscrapers, all the buildings that make New York City shiny, bright, and just New York City, but he finds that his mind can’t pull from the man next to him. Usnavi’s sleepy grin against the glass, breaths fogging it up a little. 

He’s home to him. His breath catches in his throat when he realizes that, because dammit it’s cheesy, but where Usnavi goes he’ll follow. 

“Hello to you too,” Usnavi teases, and Benny’s snapped back into reality as his boyfriend laughs at him. “You like what you see, Benny bear?”

_ Ah, I’ve been staring,  _ Benny thought, waving the thought away in favor of peeling his eyes back on the road with a bashful expression. Usnavi smirked against the glass, beginning to fall asleep to the noise of the car against the road. Benny took another sip of his coffee, inching forward towards the other side of the Hudson. 

  
  
  
  


A good three hours passed. Usnavi stirred where he was pressed up against the window, the hum of the asphalt against the wheels on their car ceasing and his ass aching a considerable amount. The car seemed to be shut off, and-

"Good morning," Benny said teasingly, stretching in the driver's seat and pushing his chair back. "We've been on the road for 3 hours and 27 minutes. I hope you don't mind a gas station break?"

He groggily rubbed at his eyes, looking around. They were at a Seven Eleven, the place covered in posters about slushies - what a throwback to Sonny, he thought - and there were other people refilling their gas tanks. "Yeah," Usnavi nodded in agreement, unlocking his car. "God, my ass hurts."

Benny chuckled at that. "I feel you too, man. Go use the bathroom and grab us something to eat, will ya?"

Usnavi nodded with a smile, stretching his arms over his head and hearing something crack with a wince. Walking into this place felt strange, a different scene than his own bodega, but Usnavi quickly located the bathroom and finally let out what he had been holding in for a good while. 

After hunting down a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos and sporting two breakfast sandwiches with a Powerade for Benny and a Mountain Dew for him (even though it was lunchtime and Usnavi had a breakfast burrito earlier), they got back into the car with a much needed sigh and the expectation of three hours more of butthurt. Benny was calling shotgun now, Usnavi behind the wheel and finally awake at his fullest. 

"It would do us good to put on some music," Benny commented with a yawn. “I think this car has Bluetooth. Do you mind?”

“As long as you put on that shitty road trip playlist we made some good years ago,” Usnavi said, driving out of the gas station area and back onto the road that led to the freeway. “There’s Queen on it, right?”

Benny pulled up his Youtube. “Yeah. There’s also a bunch of Les Mis, you geek.”

“You’re the geek here, Mr. Frodo Baggins!”

“Shut up, you’re a fan of Lord of the Rings too!”

He rolled his eyes pettily, taking a hard left out of spite and hearing Benny scream for his goddamn life. “You are so goddamn lucky I’m your boyfriend, otherwise I wouldn't be letting you drive!” he breathed out now that they were back on the highway. “Jesus, I feel like the car lifted a little!”

The Bluetooth connection finally beeped in verification, meaning Benny’s phone had finally connected, so they dropped their attention on Usnavi’s recent driving endeavour and felt compelled to pick a song. “Play some Beach Boys,” Usnavi threw out to the wind, and Benny grinned. If there was anything they shared, it was definitely their taste. Unrolling the window, Benny felt the breeze against his face as the song Wouldn’t It Be Nice blasted over the speakers. It may have been him, but Maryland didn’t smell so bad. In fact, the air felt fresher and a little less smoggier and New York City. A nice place where they could clean their thoughts - what a shame they were on the road and out of there. 

“I’m pretty sure Nina’s the geography person,” Usnavi started. “But I’m pretty sure we’re getting to our motel in less than three hours?”   
  


“Tomorrow's drive will be 12 hours,” Benny told him, wincing at the thought. “Besides, we’re in no rush here. Just wanna stop in Virginia for the night so we don’t tire ourselves out and get a late sleep in.”

Judging from the way Usnavi stared at him, he probably agreed, eyes moving back to the road as Benny whipped out the food. “Thanks for grabbing the Cool Ranch ones,” Benny said, popping a few in his mouth. “God, Lincoln is gonna be so pissed about the crumbs in this car.”

“Pssh, hand me one.”

Leaning over, he let Usnavi have a chip, laughing when he almost dropped it and caught it with his mouth. It was exhilarating, the silence filled with the sound of the Beach Boys and the feel of the crunch of the wheels against the asphalt. Benny found himself watching the white lines pass, the dashes blurring altogether and creating the illusion of a fuzzy line. He had never really found the time to admire his surroundings while he drove the taxis up in New York City, so looking out the window was-

“Perfect?”

Benny perked his head up. There was Usnavi, smiling at him with that adoring look in his eyes. They were halfway there - because apparently they had about 2 hours left on the road before they got to the motel. “Yeah,” he whispered disbelievingly. “It’s perfect.”

_ He made it perfect.  _

  
  
  
  


That afternoon, when they reached the motel, it was only 1 o’clock. “We’re stopping here?” Usnavi asked, and Benny nodded. It was a comfortable one with room service and one bed, and it definitely wasn’t as preppy as the New York City hotels but it was perfect with Usnavi in it, rolling around in the duvet and squeezing his butt as the TV played something akin to the weather channel. 

“We’ve got double the drive tomorrow,” Benny declared to the room as he took off his shirts in favor of going half naked. “I’ll take the first drive since you are definitely the least morning person out of both of us, so hunker down and have some fun, babe.”

Usnavi mumbled something into the sheets and Benny arched to hear it, so he rolled over and faced the ceiling. “Come lay down with me,” he called out with his arms outstretched, and Benny threw his clothes to the floor in favor of jumping on Usnavi with a yelp. The bed bounced back a little bit, but Usnavi found it amusive how Benny kissed down his chest and let his hands run down his sides playfully. “Benny, Benny, ow  _ ow, that tickles _ -” Usnavi breathlessly yelled, legs flailing as Benny joyously laughed above him and kissed the happy tears out of the corner of his eye. 

Eventually, Benny tired of playing around with him. “Fuck you,” Usnavi jabbed at him when he rolled off of Usnavi in favor of cuddling him close to his chest. “Fuck you and your stupid cute face and your goddamn hands.”

“These things?” Benny asked, wiggling his hand in front of Usnavi’s face, and bopping his nose with his pointer finger. “You never complain when they’re up your ass, darling.”

His face reddened. “Shush,” he countered. “I didn’t say I hated them, I said  _ fuck you.” _

“Whatever,” Benny shrugged, his hand gravitating towards Usnavi’s cheek to cup his face for a kiss. “I love you, you know that right?”

“And you’re a sap.”

Smirking, he pulled Usnavi in so their foreheads were touching. “But you love my sappy ass, don’t you?”

“How could anyone not?” Usnavi smiled. “Now kiss me, dork.”

“Of course,” Benny finally agreed, pressing their lips gently together. Sighing into the kiss, Benny felt blissful pressing Usnavi’s body into the sheets. A pair of arms reached behind his head, pressing him closer as Usnavi opened his mouth to let Benny swoop his tongue in wetly. They tasted of Doritos and Mountain Dew - how gamer chic of them - and Usnavi kept that faint smell of just  _ Usnavi  _ that drove him absolutely crazy. Parting for breath, Benny licked his lips and took in the scene of Usnavi underneath him, a little disheveled and dreamy and dazed. 

“God,” he buzzed out. “Thank you for taking us on this trip, dear god, I need another week of you kissing me senselessly until I die of air loss.”

“‘M not letting you die on me,” Benny mumbled down his body, licking at his golden tan skin. “Stay still, angel. Let me do this.”

Benny took his time, kissing up and down his body, lips against every inch of skin in the most romantic gesture. Reaching the small patch of hair that led down, he looked up to meet his approval, to which Usnavi nodded and Benny tugged off his shorts. “You’re so beautiful,” he breathed close to the tent in his boxers, and Usnavi let out a muffled groan into his arm, currently swung over his face. He tsked, moving up and gently moving his arm off his face. “You can be loud, darling. There’s a reason I bought this room.”

A slow grin crept on his face and Benny moved back down to his ministrations, moaning against the soft fabric and sending vibrations up Usnavi’s spine as if he was the one being pleased. Usnavi mercilessly groaned from his throat and gripped the sheets - god, he was so sensitive, and Benny had barely started - head thrown to the side against the pillow as Benny tugged off his boxers. 

Usnavi spread his legs and let Benny rest between them, lax against the sheets as Benny’s mouth worked wonders around his length. “Benny,” he groaned, letting his boyfriend’s name fall off his lips. “Oh god, you’re so good to me, mmmm, you’re amazing, god, I’m going to  _ die- _ ”

“Do you want me to stop?”

“ _ Fuck no- _ ”

“Thought so.”

For the sake of winding him up, Benny intended to draw out the pleasure, swiping his tongue on the tip of his cock and teasing it with a lull to the way he leaned his head against Usnavi’s thigh. Up on the pillows, sweat came down Usnavi’s brow, a testament as to how hot and wound up he was in the heat of the moment. He gave up on begging, letting Benny drive him over the edge and then refuse to speed up. Like he was teetering on the edge of a cliff, drawn back over on and reigned back in again in the best way possible. 

“So sensitive,” Benny mumbled, running his hand down the inside of Usnavi’s thigh and bringing goosebumps in the wake of his touch. If you held a hand on Usnavi, you could feel him straining with the need to buck up into Benny’s touch. Vibrating, almost, trying so hard not to press into Benny’s hand with his eyes squeezed shut. Eventually, Benny would have to take pity on him, so he got off the bed and searched for the lube bottle. 

In the absence of his presence, Usnavi perked his head up. “Benny?” he quietly called out, and his boyfriend shushed him and told him to lay back down. Fishing out the bottle, he let it click and fill in the silence, gently crossing the foot of the bed to reach where Usnavi laid legs spread on the flat of the bed for him. “I’m here now,” he whispered, rubbing the cool lubricant between his palms to warm it up. “I’ll make this so good for you, honey, you want that?”

“Fuck-” Usnavi wetly groaned, “Yeah,” he managed out, nose pressed against Benny’s skin. “I love you so much, Benny, you mean the world to me-”

“I know,” Benny replied as his middle finger circled the rim of his hole. “Mmmh, baby you’re so tight for me, breathe a little, you’re doing so good.”

And he pressed inside, feeling Usnavi tight around his finger. Usnavi revelled in the feeling of the burn of Benny’s one finger stretching him open, one becoming two as the minutes passed by, two becoming three as the feeling became a white fuzz in his mind. His fingers hit a certain spot and Usnavi moaned, wanting more of the sensation and feeling Benny rub at it a few more times as he writhed under his touch. 

God, he felt so vulnerable.  _ It was perfect.  _

“I think you’re ready now,” he heard Benny tell him, in a tone that sounded utterly wrecked, and he slipped his fingers out as Usnavi sleepily grinned in anticipation. Benny was over him, spreading the cool liquid over his dick and lazily stroking it even though it was definitely perked up and awake at the sight of Usnavi. “You good?” Benny asked. Usnavi nodded.  _ He was so fucking good.  _

The tip of his dick rubbed against Usnavi’s entrance gently, Benny resting his head on the pillow beside Usnavi’s as he pushed in with a deep breath. At the deep noises Benny was making, Usnavi felt helpless, arms moving to hold Benny close to his chest and mouth moving to bite at his neck. Everything smelled like Benny, he was enveloped in the presence of him, and it made his heart hurt in all the good ways as Benny bottomed out with a sigh. 

Before he started, Benny hovered over him protectively, watching the tears fall down his face and worriedly stopping in his tracks. “Hey,” Benny quietly whispered, brushing aside a tear as Usnavi shook against him. “Do I need to stop?”

“Please,” Usnavi sobbed out, arms tightening around Benny and tugging him close. “I want you so badly, you have no clue, god, Benny-”

“Say no more.” He nipped Usnavi’s earlobe gently, lifting his hips and slowly going in and out, feeling Usnavi tighten around him everytime he fucked him. Usnavi was breathing shallowly, twitching when he felt his dick catch between Benny’s stomach and his in the frenzy that was Benny leaning down to catch his moans in a kiss. Judging from the way Usnavi’s breaths picked up, he was getting close, and so was Benny, so he slipped a hand in between their bodies and got Usnavi off swiftly. 

“I-  _ Benny, oh god, come for me, ooh carino- _ ”

“You’re so good-”

With a twitch of his cock in Usnavi, Benny filled him warmly, falling lax against the mattress. They both raced to catch their breath, running out of it even more, and when Usnavi slapped his back in a way that signaled that he was getting overstimulated, Benny pulled out with a gentle rub of his thumb on Usnavi’s cheek. This was definitely much needed. 

Usnavi stared back at him across the pillows, eyes looking him over as he licked his lips and eyed the streaks of come on his stomach. “You gonna get that?” he asked, and Benny laughed because of course Usnavi was going to make him do the work. 

There was a box full of tissues on the nightstand conveniently placed, so he pulled out two or three before he leaned over Usnavi and wiped the sticky substance off his stomach. “Get some rest, baby,” he told Usnavi, who immediately curled up next to Benny after he got his legs under the duvet. Pleased with the scene, he stood up to leave Usnavi to his nap, only for Usnavi to tug at his arm sleepily- 

“Stay,” he sleepily mumbled against the pillow, struggling to keep his eyes open. “‘Want you to nap with me, please?”

Who was Benny to refuse? He lifted the covers, settling in next to Usnavi and threading a hand in his hair. “I’ll be here,” he tender whispered, pulling him in gently to his chest. “Just get some sleep, okay?”

“Mhm,” Usnavi quietly replied. He was already out like a light, breaths evening out as he napped on Benny’s arm. He was always endearing like this, hair mussed and body tired out, and Benny’s heart panged in adoration as he brushed Usnavi’s forehead with a kiss and fell asleep with a warm and friendly soul in his arms. 

  
  
  
  


“Mnfmnnnf.”

“Benny.”

“No, ‘m sleepy.”

“Eat something first, will you?”

Groggily complying, Benny opened his eyes to meet his boyfriend, covered in the blankets with a paper plate holding pizza. “Cmon,” Usnavi ushered, shoving it in his face nicely. “I even called room service, got told they had a pool. We can go swim for a while!”

At the sound of a pool, Benny made a tired noise before proceeding to sit up, looking around for the clock. The red neon numbers read out  _ 8:45 -  _ were they really out for that long? Not like he knew, he was asleep - and he glanced back at Usnavi, who held out the plate with an excited look. The pool always was fun, but they had made an effort to stave away from it as Highbridge was a brooding place for pee flavored water and white people attempting to get a tan in the abundance of sunlight the city provided. Peeking behind the curtains of their room, he viewed the pool from where they overlooked it on the balcony. 

His stomach grumbled - “I’ll have some of that pizza,” he admitted, resting his head on Usnavi’s thigh. Usnavi grinned at his little victory, and perhaps he really needed something in his stomach because when he was done with it, he kinda wanted more. Thankfully, Usnavi brought a little cupcake (wherever he snatched that, Benny didn’t know, but a cupcake was a cupcake and it was really well frosted) and got his mouth all covered in chocolate frosting. 

“D’you wanna go to the pool now?” Usnavi quietly asked, hand on Benny’s back rubbing the smooth skin there. “We can swim a few laps. Front desk told me it doesn’t close, so we can swim for as long as we want.”

Benny smiled from his lap, cupping Usnavi’s face. “Someone’s excited to swim,” he softly grinned, pulling him in for a kiss and feeling Usnavi lean into it almost sleepily. “We can go now, if you want.”

And so Usnavi grabbed his swimming trunks, which they had assumed would have to wait to be used on beach day, and slipped them on pleasantly as Benny put on his own. The pool, at this time of night, was empty, and Usnavi jangled around with the noisy key before unlocking it and letting himself and Benny into the area. 

" _ Cannonball! _ " Usnavi yelled, dropping one of the free pool towels and jumping into the water, the lights flickering on at the sense of motion. Benny smiled, watching Usnavi whoop in the water and flail around in joy, before he dipped his foot in and tested the water. Usnavi narrowed his eyes at him - "Get in here! Are you scared that the water's gonna bite?"

Swimming over hastily, Usnavi paused by the edge of the pool to tug at him by his trunks. "Get in here," Usnavi smirked, submerging his head in the water for a moment and pushing off the wall to propel himself to the middle of the pool. Hopping in gently, Benny actually found himself enjoying the temperature of the water. It wasn't too warm, and it wasn't too cool. 

Benny waited for Usnavi to go another lap underwater, all the way to the other side, before he pushed back from the other wall and started swimming breaststroke style towards Benny, who watched him adoringly as he floated when he was close enough for Benny to hold in the water. 

"Hey," Usnavi greeted, and Benny snorted because  _ how many times had Usnavi already said hey in the span of this trip _ ? Regardless, Benny let his arms fly under Usnavi to pick him out of the water bridal style, Usnavi giggling as he got drips of water on Benny's chest. "Doesn't this bring you back to a sorrier time?"

Rolling his eyes, he squeezed Usnavi's tummy gently. "Highbridge Pool, Summer of 04? Damn right I remember, you almost got us drowned cause you decided 2 people at a time on the waterslide was a good idea."

"I thought it would be fun," Usnavi whined as he rolled out of Benny's arms in favor of resting his head on his chest and wrapping his arms around his neck. "Like those big water parks with the raft rides and the two person loggers. Too bad it's just Highbridge."

"You've got that right," Benny nodded, hand moving down to rest on Usnavi's ass. "I kinda wanna try out their hot tub."

Right, the hot tub. Er go, not a  _ tub,  _ but more of a heated pool in the way that it was built, near the poolside and filled to the chest length. Usnavi stepped out of the pool in excitement, spotting the steam rising through the air and the pleasant heat radiating off. "This looks really nice," he commented. "Though it looks like we shouldn't cannonball in there."

Easing himself in through the stairwell, Benny sighed and let the water calm him. "Please don't cannonball," he gently advised, letting his legs float near one of the underwater pressure jets as he rested his head next to where Usnavi sat against the water, and eventually, settled in next to him. It was relaxing, feeling the warmth of the water envelop his sore muscles, and having Usnavi next to him topped it all off. 

"Y'know," Usnavi mumbled. "I'm glad you took us out here. It's not exactly the classiest, but it's perfect."

"I'm happy you think so too," Benny smiled, looking up at the sky. It was cloudless tonight, the black of the sky only making the moon shine brighter next to the stars.  _ Perfect timing.  _

The  _ stars,  _ goddamnit, they could finally see the stars. Usnavi looked up to follow Benny's gaze and lo and behold, his eyes widened. It's not like Usnavi had never seen them, hell, last time he did was the night of the blackout, when all the lights went out, but here outside of the city, they were scattered like holes poked in a box. Little suns that shone just as bright as theirs, and if a star could be compared to Benny then he was the brightest that shone in the world. 

"You-" Usnavi teared up, voice getting a little wet. "Is this why you stopped us here in Virginia? To look at the stars?"

"I hope you like i- Usnavi!" Benny crossed the gap between them as Usnavi threw himself onto him, holding him close as he shook. The water seemed to still as he held him, thoughts drawn out as Usnavi hugged him tighter than he ever had. “...Are you okay?”

“I love you so much,” Usnavi sobbed out with a smile, happy tears down his face. “You’re so amazing, Benny.”

“You are,” Benny countered, kissing his forehead. “And there’s no one I’d rather have than you.”

And this should be the part where Benny proposes - it really should. Underneath the stars, in an almost empty motel where no one can see, the two of them flushed in the water this close. It’s the most romantic scene ever, right out of that one Percy Jackson movie Sonny forced them to watch, and it makes his heart yearn to the point where it gets stuck in his throat and the words get caught in his mouth. 

“Benny?”

“Uh- yeah. It’s getting late,” he quickly answered. “Do you wanna head inside?”

Usnavi gave him a somber smile. “That would be perfect.”

They got out of the steamy area, a little chilly from the loss of heat, but Benny wrapped an arm around him, a towel around his chest, and they squeezed the slippers on and headed inside sounding like penguins. (Penguins, Usnavi told him, because their slippers made wet squeegee noises on the motel carpet as they looked for their room. Benny snickered at his cute antics - they could be whatever his wild imagination wanted them to.)

After a moment of undressing and tender wet kisses, they got in the shower and frantically kissed the breath out of each other before Benny insisted on shampooing the chlorine smell out of Usnavi’s hair. He almost fell asleep against Benny’s chest at the sensation of his hands in his hair, but Benny dragged him out of the shower and wiped him down with a warm fluffy towel before gently placing him in bed and covering him up with the sheets. His hair was still soaked, so Benny took the time to rub it until it was satisfyingly dry and altogether mussed by the way Benny had stirred it up. 

Usnavi felt a brush in his hair, gently combing back his fluffy curls as Benny watched him in his lap while the TV ran. Giving him a sleepy grin, Usnavi kissed the inside of his thigh before pulling the sheets up to his shoulder and departing off to sleep. 

He could’ve imagined it, the lips pressed against his forehead and a whisper of ‘I love you’ in his sleepy haze. 

  
  
  


The next day, they headed out as soon as they wanted to, which meant getting back on the road at 11 in the morning because goddamn it, they wanted to sleep in (and it was perfectly alright). Room service was great about the breakfast, and Benny didn’t know grits could actually taste good until Usnavi jokingly fed him and flew the spoon into his mouth like a dork. Once they left, they left a small tip in pity of the state that they left the sheets - sweaty and covered in certain liquids. 

“I’m telling you dude,” Usnavi yawned out in the passenger seat, once again buried in one of Benny’s hoodies even though he would probably take it off later due to the heat. “Georgia takes up too much space. It shouldn’t have to take two hours to drive through the fucking state!”

“You don’t see the Floridians complaining,” Benny countered, and Usnavi kicked his arm because it was pretty obvious that Benny didn’t know any actual Floridians. If he did, it was probably a tourist that came up to New York that Benny so happened to drive, but Floridians were so prone to road trips if anywhere they were going was on the East Coast.  _ It was impossible.  _

Nevertheless, Usnavi picked up a bag of Cheeto Puffs they picked up from earlier, popping a few of the puffs into his mouth with a loud crunch that made Benny peel his eyes off the road for a mere second, before returning to driving. “Don’t distract me,” he nicely remarked and opened his mouth, letting Usnavi toss one into his mouth with perfect pitch. 

“‘M not a distraction unless you look at me willingly,” Usnavi countered. “Which, you are right now, instead of the road. See something you like?”

Benny hummed. “I did, now all I see is a fool trying to woo his boyfriend.”

“And is it working?”

“...Yeah.”

Usnavi snorted, before he leaned over the cupstand to place a kiss on Benny’s cheek. “Glad to know I can still get you going.” Benny laughed because they literally fucked almost 24 hours ago. 

_ Whatever _ , he thought, because Usnavi’s logic was always strange in the way that made it simply  _ Usnavi.  _ He put his eyes back on the road, nodding because in reality, Usnavi could be the only one left to get him going as fast as he did. There was no one else who made his heart rush as fast. 

Eventually they put on the radio. It was getting too quiet and Usnavi playing Candy Crush on his phone wasn’t enough to fill in the silence, so Benny clicked the radio dial and switched it to the classic rock channel, currently playing music from the 70’s. They passed a few signs on the road with familiar names from a history class in 8th grade. (“Lexington? Isn’t that where they got shot or something?” “Usnavi, they all got shot.”) A good three hours passed before they got through the mountainsides and under the tunnels, ears a little cloggy as they entered the Carolinas. 

Some time later, Usnavi decided the hoodie was for the foreseeable future, whipping it off and tossing it towards the back as he unbuttoned his shirt, wanting to feel the air against his body. “I was waiting to get out of the mountains so I could do this,” Usnavi smugly said as he pushed back the roof window on the top of the car. “Do me a favor and open it? Gives us the real road trip vibe.”

Benny rolled his eyes, because they had never been on a road trip and this cheesy stuff only happened in the movies. Nonetheless, he rolled open the roof window, hearing the wind loudly blow against it as Usnavi stuck his head out with a grin, yelling into the coastline that was visible on Benny’s side actual nonsense about himself. Whatever it was, Usnavi was having fun, so he disregarded it all in favor of trying to keep them from crashing. 

Once Usnavi was finished yelling at the sky, he settled back into his chair, bubbly from the little session he had with the world and their little window. “Thanks for letting me do that,” he laughed at Benny sheepishly. “I know it’s a bit strange, but-”

Benny pulled him into a kiss, catching Usnavi by surprise, as he parted with an ear to ear grin. “Everything you do is strange, darling,” he answered saccharine sweet. “It’s also very endearing.”

“And just when I thought I was the sappy one,” Usnavi flusteredly mumbled, resting his head on Benny’s arm as they drove. Benny laughed again, because Usnavi was still being unbelievably sappy while he leaned on him. It just worked like that with them - the perfect feedback loop of laughter and smiles, the best thing they could provide each other. 

A good hour passed, and Usnavi was fast asleep again, curled up like a cat on his side with his legs tucked up to his chest as he leaned on Benny’s right arm. Benny drove with his left hand, other hand petting through Usnavi’s hair unintentionally as they zoomed through North Carolina with ease. It was funny, watching the road pass so quickly, and before they knew they arrived in South Carolina after 2 more hours of driving. 

“Hey,” Benny gently prodded. “We’re at a rest stop, baby. Do you wanna use the bathroom?”

Usnavi stirred, groaning at the sensation of Benny’s hair. “What time ‘s it?” he mumbled, looking through the window. They seemed to be in South Carolina, and the sun was about to set as they sat in the rest area, slightly elevated from the rest of the interstate. He winced - “How long have you been driving?”

“Five hours,” Benny told him. “I can still keep going though. Just gotta take a short break with you, make sure you get something to eat.”

He held up a Milky Way bar to his mouth and Usnavi grinned - of course Benny chose one of those - and he took a small bite as he leaned on Benny’s arm. “This is actually kinda romantic,” he commented. “Watching everyone drive by. It’s like New York balcony crap but a little more fresh. Only thing that could make this sexier was if I sat in your lap.”

“Are you suggesting we do so?”

Pulling Usnavi into his lap from where he was unbuckled, Benny settled him so that his thighs were pressed on the side of Usnavi’s, hugging him gently to his chest and feeling Usnavi nuzzle up to his neck and smell the sweet cologne that died down to a pleasant him on the cuff of his shirt. “This is nice,” Usnavi mumbled, resting his head on Benny. “God, I’m not supposed to be this sleepy.”

“It’s alright.” Pulling down the chair, he pushed it back gently as not to jostle Usnavi in his lap. “Just relax. We are on vacation after all.”

Once again, Usnavi fell asleep against him, lax against him as the streetlights began stirring. These were larger than the ones at home, the light stretching for a long ways before it faded into the next spotlight. He admired it for a second, before taking Usnavi off of his lap and pulling the passenger seat back so Usnavi could get some rest. Perhaps he was building up energy for the actual beach part of their trip, or maybe he was just tired. Not like Benny minded - he’d cross the seven seas for Usnavi, a mere 7 hours more of driving wasn’t that bad. 

  
  
  


Driving down I-95 was fun, but they were in Florida and Benny was absolutely going to lose it. 

A bridge connected Clearwater with the rest of Tampa Bay, a rumbling Downtown city near the trigger of the gun that looked like Florida on the Gulf Coast. They arrived at straight after midnight, Usnavi still kicked out in the passenger seat, and Benny felt woozy after 12 hours of driving and 4 stops to fill up with gas and caffeine. He was drifting into sleep, until-

"We're here," Usnavi mumbled, face pressed up against the glass. Groggily rubbing at his neck, he watched as Benny drove through the tiered parking lot and onto the 4th floor where a parking space was available. "What time 's it?"

"A little ways after 12," Benny told him. "God, I'm so tired."

Usnavi frowned, before pulling Benny in for a sideways hug the best he could in a car. "Tell you what big guy," he began. "We can find a room and I promise you can sleep as soon as possible. I'll get everything situated. That's cool?"

"Yeah." Benny sleepily grinned, pressing up to Usnavi's touch. "That's amazing, dude."

They left the car in its place, Usnavi lugging out their shared suitcase and Benny wrapping Usnavi's blanket around his body, a little too sleepy to face the cold. With the floatation donut over his shoulder, they headed to the elevator, ready to check in with the main desk. 

This place was really good about their reception and they got to their room easily, the woman at the front telling them that room service was available and handing them some free of charge cookies from the little pull open window on the desk. Opening the door, Usnavi tugged the suitcase over the bump of the doorway, turning to see -  _ A one bedroom suite with a full blown kitchen, a balcony with a view of the water -  _ what seemed to be another version of their apartment. 

“Welp,” Benny mumbled, with zero regard to the place. “I’m kicked out, dude, Come join me in bed when you’re ready.”

“Alright,” Usnavi giddly smiled, squeezing Benny’s shoulder and heading to the kitchen. “I’m a little awake right now, but I’ll join you.”

Benny smiled at him once again, heading to the bedroom and plopping down on the soft sheets. Usnavi was stuck in the rest of the suite, poking at everything in the kitchen in pure awe. After the kitchen came the balcony, where he stayed for a good 15 minutes admiring the sweet view of the beach and the little shops east of the main beach. The city, shrouded in the dark as it was, still quietly bustled. Never as much as the city really did, but the gentle whir of the place calmed his brain down and let him taste the salty breeze on his tongue. It would never be DR and it was far from New York, but it was the in between he needed. 

Heading back inside, Usnavi stripped down to his boxers and his tank top, ready to depart into dreamland as he curled up under the covers. Benny’s arms wrapped around his stomach, holding him close and pressing up to his neck. “How is it?”

“It’s great,” Usnavi told him. “Go to bed, darling. We’ll do something tomorrow.”

That was all it took before they slept in each other’s arms, Usnavi lulled by the sound of Benny’s breath in his ears. 

  
  


That morning, when they woke up, the first thing Usnavi wanted was the beach. 

He was drawn to the water like a turtle waiting to be swept up by the tide, toes curling in the sand giddy as he bounced in the early hours. The sun was beginning to rise, and it just wasn’t enough to watch it from the balcony. To cup it in his hands and feel the warmth of it against his golden skin - that drew Usnavi into the most enthusiastic thrall. 

“Take a picture of me!” Usnavi yelled, hopping away from Benny’s side to face the ocean. How silly, how he had begged him to take a picture when there were already 5 in his camera roll of Usnavi looking at the sun, but Benny needed more to save the moment. He watched him amusedly run off towards the water, kicking the sand between his toes and yelping when he stepped in the wet sand. 

They set down their towel, Usnavi tossing his flip flops regardless of where they went in favor of testing the morning waters. No one else was there but them, which was strange because this was a packed beach the last time they checked, but he supposed the Floridians weren’t morning people. 

“Benny!” Usnavi yelled once again, flopping into the water. “Get in here, it’s beginning to warm up!”

He chuckled, wading into the water with their floatie around his waist. “You sure you didn’t pee in there?”

“I didn’t pee in here,” Usnavi falsely mocked him, pouncing on Benny’s back as soon as he got in. “Y’know, one time Abuela told me that the fish pee in here all day. I thought it was funny, but now it just haunts my thoughts.”

“You are one strange creature,” Benny reckoned, pulling him in for a kiss. “But I guess that makes me even stranger.”

Usnavi pushed him down into the water, tackling them both down. 

  
  


The days passed by like a blur. Usnavi found himself waking up to the craziest variants of breakfast, Benny apparently choosing to spoil him. “You’re becoming a sugar daddy,” Usnavi said on the counter with a warm mug of coffee as he stared out their balcony, Benny nursing a sunny side up egg in the pan right next to him. His boyfriend only chuckled, gently putting down his coffee cup filled hand and pulling him into a domestically sweet kiss. 

“Ew,” Benny jokingly muttered. “You taste like coffee.”

“And you love it, don’t you?”

“Always,” Benny responded, pressing a kiss to his forehead. 

During the day, they didn’t feel like driving anymore, so they ate out in the local restaurants on the beach or took a small trolley to get around the area. Clearwater was filled with people, but there was always an empty spot on the beach for them - Usnavi preferred an area towards the middle of the beach, towel setup close to the water as they built the most intricate of sandcastle designs and spending hours splashing around in the water, getting lost in the fun and spending even longer desperately trying to find their belongings. 

“Hey Benny,” Usnavi said, floating atop of their blue floating donut. “I wonder if there are any sharks in here.”

“Sharks sound cool." Benny nonchalantly answered, rolling off the floatie and landing into the water with a gentle splash. "Getting bitten by one? Definitely not."

"Obviously," Usnavi responds. "But like, people swim with them. So I don't think that's too dangerous."

"Whatever you want."

A moment passed, and Usnavi sat up from where he was laying on the floatie and submerged next to Benny, using the donut as a raft in a sense. "I was thinking we could check out that ice cream place again,” Usnavi commented, kicking water as Benny swam them towards the shore. “Whaddaya think?”

“That sounds great.”

So they went and got separate cones,  _ huge cones, actually, because Florida was blown out of proportion like that -  _ and Benny settled for a simple cookie and cream flavored scoop as Usnavi got four scoops of Superman flavored ice cream. Benny laughed at him, calling him a nerd for his preference of ice cream even though he was stealing bites of it. Usnavi threatened to stab the scoops in his face, smooshing the ice cream against his cheeks messily as they desperately looked for a set of napkins. 

“Hey Benny,” Usnavi said, cupping his face. Leaning in all of a sudden, he kissed his cheek, licking off a swipe of ice cream. “You got some schmutz on your face,” he teased, flustering Benny a little as he walked ahead. 

_ God, he was jelly for him,  _ Benny thought as he ran to catch up to Usnavi, currently caught up in a street performance. 

  
  


But at night, things became fervent. Heated, with the addition of the humidity of the place, wet and sloppy and careless and wholeheartedly passionate. Teased with the sight of each other throughout the day, neither of them could wait until they got back home to continue driving each other up the walls even worse. Benny took him as soon as they entered, pressing him up to the door in a wet kiss as Usnavi’s hips bucked up in a need for something,  _ anything.  _

“Fuck,” Usnavi groaned, Benny’s thigh digging up into his crotch and eliciting a warm friction where it rubbed up against his straining cock. “I need you to fuck me right now,  _ Bennyy _ , hurry up-”

Benny agreed very much, rutting back up to him as he tried to reach the bedroom with him over his shoulder and pliant to all his touches. Placing him down, Benny immediately pressed him into the sheets, trapping him in his touch as he tugged off their swimming shorts. Tasting the saltwater off Usnavi’s skin, he was sent into this thrall of simply needing him, needing to be closer.

So he kneeled down, lining his face up with Usnavi’s length, and sinking down faster than called for. He ignored his gag reflex in favor of watching Usnavi sensitively buck his hips up, legs shaking as if they had no clue how to stay still apart from each other. Their names came off each other’s lips like prayers, and when Usnavi came with a shake, Benny swallowed with expertise and finally quenched his need to connect their lips and swallow the moans out of each other. 

Never mind that it was messy, pulling each other into this mess drunk off the presence of each other. Rough with the dry dampness of the salt water in Usnavi’s hair, smooth with the way Usnavi’s hand glided over his cock teasingly waking his erection up.  _ It was perfect.  _

  
  


They were on the pier, admiring all the little shops.

With the week coming to a close, they were expected to drive back up in a day 's worth of time, so they spent their last moments taking in the best days of their lives. Usnavi’s eyes shone when the lights turned on, the noise of the waves coming in against the wood of the pier blending with the excited chatter of everyone around them. Strangers who they didn’t know, faces they never had to learn to remember, people they could be _ them  _ around. 

The sun was beginning to come down, pinks and greens and dreamy sunlight beginning to blend in with navy blue skies and dark purple dashing across it with stars sprinkled in like sea salt. With his eyes caught in the sky, Benny couldn’t see anything other from Usnavi. Usnavi, and his perfect strangeness to him, the way he woke up at night with his thoughts running faster than his everything. HIs complexity, his perfect smile, and the way he worked with Benny like gears clicking together to build the machine that was them. 

He could never part from him, and it was in that moment that he got down. Scriptless and speechless, with no words and the hope that his actions would speak more than his words, watching as Usnavi turned around to look at him, The gasps of bystanders around them, shock and surprise that this was happening in front of them.

“Benny,” Usnavi wetly stated, like a sermon coming off his lips. “Are you-”

“Yeah,” Benny smiled up, standing to meet Usnavi’s gaze. “It’s always been you. You are the handsomest, greatest, most perfect human being I could ever know, and I would give up everything just to have you. Will you do me the greatest favor in the universe and give me the pleasure of being your husband?”

A moment’s silence. Everyone watched like this was some rom com movie, then caught in the dreamy light of the world as they stood in front of each other. Usnavi teared up, wiping his tears away from his eyes as he smiled. “Yeah,” he whispered. “Yes Benny, goddamnit,  _ yes Benny, I love you so fucking much-” _

And Usnavi jumped on him, crushing them together in a kiss as they shared their happy tears. His heart panged as everything around him blurred, the people’s shouts and calps of approval and happiness for them faint noise to his ears as Usnavi stared in his eyes like he hung up the stars for him. “You’re the love of my fucking life,” Benny told him, parting for air as Usnavi smiled at him. “I’m gonna marry the shit out of you, dude-”

“We’re gonna have five dogs-”

“Four dogs.”

“ _ Four and a half dogs, _ ” Usnavi giggled as Benny’s palm cupped his face. “Fuck the dogs man, all I want is you.”

The people around them whooped once again as Benny pulled him into another kiss. 

  
  
  


They were back on the beach again. Benny had become attached to it too, the feel of the air on his skin, Usnavi in his lap as they sat in dreamy moonlit paradise. Usnavi was content in his arms, heart racing with the promise that they’d still be together tomorrow. Tomorrow and forever, thanks to the promise Benny made. Which was, to him? Perfect. 

“Hey Benny?” Usnavi called out to him, gaining his attention like usual. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Benny responded, cupping his cheek. 

And they realized, pressed up to each other in the sand, that this would be enough. 

  
  
  
  


The End

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading. come find me @yo-let-me-get-a-milkyway on tumblr and leave a kudo and a comment for my well being. :)


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